Working Smarter, Not Harder

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Working Smarter, Not Harder

• Chapter 1

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OBJECTIVES

• What is Knowledge Management?
• Why Knowledge Management
• KM Myths
• Implications for Knowledge Management

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Knowing ignorance is strengthIgnoring knowledge
is sickness Lao Tsu
Knowing ignorance is strength. Ignoring knowledge
is sickness. If one is sick of sickness, then one
is not sick. The sage is not sick because he is
sick of sickness. Therefore he is not sick.

• ??????????
• ???? ????
• ???? ????
• ???? ????

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Working Smarter, Not Harder

• Overlapping Human/Organizational/ Technological
  factors in KM
• People (workforce)
• Organizational Processes
• Technology (IT infrastructure)

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OVERLAPPING FACTORS OF KM

• Knowledge

PEOPLE
ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESSES
TECHNOLOGY
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OVERLAPPING FACTORS OF KM

• The ideal organization is one where people
  exchange knowledge across functional areas of the
  business by using technology and established
  processes. The exchange may be for policy
  formulation and strategy, for training and
  development, or for problem solving in teams.
  None of the three areas can function
  independently of one another.

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WHAT IS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT?

• Process of capturing and making use of a firms
  collective expertise anywhere in the business
• Doing the right thing, NOT doing things right
• Viewing company processes as knowledge processes
• Knowledge creation, dissemination, upgrade,
  and application toward organizational survival
• Part science, part art, part luck

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EXPLICIT AND TACIT KNOWLEDGE
Oral Communication Tacit Knowledge 50-95
Explicit Knowledge Base 5
Information Request
Explicit Knowledge
Information Feedback
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THE KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION
Culture
Competition
Create
Collect
Organize
Knowledge Organization
Intelligence
Techno- logy
Maintain
Refine
Disseminate
Knowledge Management Process
Leadership
KM Drivers
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THE KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION

• The middle layer addresses the KM life cycle
• A knowledge organization derives knowledge from
  customer, product, financial, and personnel
  practices knowledge.

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THE KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION

• Customer knowledge
• Their needs, who to contact, customer buying
  power, etc.
• Product knowledge
• The products in the market place, who is buying
  them, what prices they are selling at, and how
  much money is spent on such products
• Financial knowledge
• Capital resources, where to acquire capital and
  at what cost
• Personnel practices knowledge
• The expertise available, the quality service they
  provide, and how to go about finding experts,
  especially in customer service

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THE KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION

• Indicators of knowledge thinking actively and
  ahead, not passively and behind
• Using technology to facilitate knowledge sharing
  and innovation

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IDEAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Existing methods/ processes
Outside Environment

• New products
• New markets
• Smarter problem-solving
• Value-added innovation
• Better quality customer
• service
• More efficient processes
• More experienced staff

Learning
PEOPLE
Conversion
New ideas
Insights
Knowledge Creation
Organizational Benefits
Knowledge Base
Codified Technology
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IDEAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

• The ideal knowledge organization allows people to
  exchange knowledge across functional areas via
  technology and established processes
• Knowledge internalized and adopted within the
  culture of the organization

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DETERMINANTS OF KM SUCCESS

• People
• Sharing knowledge based on mutual trust

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WHY KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT?

• Sharing knowledge, a company creates exponential
  benefits from the knowledge as people learn from
  it
• Building better sensitivity to brain drain
• Reacting instantly to new business opportunities
• Ensuring successful partnering and core
  competencies with suppliers, vendors, customers,
  and other constituents
• Shortens the learning curve

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THE DRIVERS

• Technology Drivers.
• Data communications, networking, and wireless
  transmission
• Store, communicate, and exchange data at high
  speed
• Process Drivers
• Elimination of duplicate mistakes
• The way companies react to market changes (JIT)
• Personnel-Specific Drivers
• Minimizing personnel turnover
• Minimizing knowledge walkouts

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THE DRIVERS

• Knowledge-Related Drivers
• Knowledge sharing knowledge transfer
• Financial Drivers
• Knowledge defies economic theory, where assets
  are subject to diminishing returns over the long
  run.
• Knowledge assets increase in value as more and
  more people use them.

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GOAL OF KM

• Produce a positive return on investment in
  people, processes, and technologies.

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INTERNET CONTRIBUTES TO THE USE OF KM

• The Internet is an incredible information source
• With the World Wide Web, every user can share and
  update information at will
• The Internet uses a universal communication
  standard protocol
• The Internet provides quicker interaction and
  communication with knowledge workers

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KEY CHALLENGES

• Explaining what KM is and how it can benefit a
  corporate environment
• Evaluate the firms core knowledge, by employee,
  by department, and by division
• Learning how knowledge can be captured,
  processed, and acted on
• Addressing the still neglected area of
  collaboration
• Continue researching KM to improve and expand its
  current capabilities
• How to deal with tacit knowledge

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KM MYTHS

• KM is not a fad. Knowing what you know or what
  you need to know is not a fad.
• KM and data warehouse are not the same. First,
  data warehousing is a mere repository of data,
  not knowledge. It is critical for KM, because
  data warehousing is used in data mining and
  eliciting new information for new products, new
  customer demand, etc.
• KM is not a new concept. It has been practical
  since the early 1980s.

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KM MYTHS

• KM is not technology, per se.It relies on
  technology to expedite knowledge sharing and
  transfer. It is a unique way of thinking about
  work and about working.
• It is true that technology can store data,
  information, and knowledge, but it cannot
  guarantee that people will use it. Human
  intelligence is usually tied to tacit knowledge,
  which is in the human brain. Any exchange or
  sharing of such knowledge is done face-to-face,
  using specialized tools or methodologies.

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KM LIFE CYCLE

• Four-Process View of KM
• Capturing data entry, scanning, voice input,
  interviewing, brainstorming
• Organizing cataloging, indexing, filtering,
  linking, codifying
• Refining contexualizing, collaborating,
  compacting, mining
• Transfer flow, sharing, alert, push

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OVERSIGHTS OR PITFALLS

• Failing to modify the compensation system to
  reward people working as a team
• Building a huge database that is supposed to
  cater to the entire company
• Viewing KM as a technology or a human resources
  area
• Placing too much emphasis on technology

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OVERSIGHTS OR PITFALLS

• Introducing KM into the organization via a simple
  project to minimize possible losses
• Pursuing KM without being ready
• Having poor leadership

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THE KM CYCLE AND THE ORGANIZATION
Organizational personnel
Management Decision making
KM Life Cycle . capture . gathering .
organizing . refining . transfer  
  Culture
Information technology
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ROLE OF TRUST IN THE KM LIFE CYCLE

• Trust supports the KM process by giving employees
  clear impression that reciprocity, free exchange,
  and proposing innovations will be recognized and
  fairly compensated.
• The bottom line is that one cannot have an open,
  candid dialogue with someone he/she does not
  trust.

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PROMOTING TRUST

• Decentralize organization structure to allow
  decision making by teamwork
• Reduce control-based management and encourage
  management by results
• Revisit companys mission statement and ethics
  policy to demonstrate its new views about values
• Assess and improve employee responsibilities and
  accountability
• Eliminate unnecessary directives or barriers
• Install programs to improve employee commitment
  to knowledge sharing

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THE WORLD OF RE-EVERYTHING

• Knowledge is productive only when captured in
  peoples mind
• Shareability requires decentralized intelligence
• We need to empower knowledge workers
• Top performers can be a problem they are not the
  most humble

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• The Knowledge Business has already changed
• Are you in the knowledge business?
• How will you close your knowledge gap?
• Is your mind geared to re-think what you think
  you know?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• Suppose you were asked to do a 15-minute
  presentation before the managers of a small
  retailer about the pros and cons of knowledge
  management. What would you say? Outline the
  content of your talk.
• A business manager, a programmer, and a
  psychologist all want to become KM designers.
  Which one do you feel will have the least
  difficulty? Why?

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• Search the Internet and current journals for
  surveys that show how well companies are
  adopting (or struggling with) KM. Report your
  findings to class.

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Working Smarter, Not Harder

• Chapter 1